How to plant tomatoe and what are the things to be considered.I live in Colorado springs?
Submitted by admin on December 29, 2009 – 12:14 am
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edgar asked:
And which is the best time to plant? Im a first time grower and if you have anylinks about planting tomatoes is a great help I believe, thank you in advance..
And which is the best time to plant? Im a first time grower and if you have anylinks about planting tomatoes is a great help I believe, thank you in advance..
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Peppers are tender plants and can not tolerate frost. They will only grow in warm soil so don’t rush them to the garden. In Colorado Springs, usually the last week in May is safe. Some of us have used plastic tunnels and plant our peppers under these tunnels. Using 1/2 inch white PVC pipes in 10 foot lengths, we cover these pipes with 4 mil or 6 mil clear plastic. In the cool days of the planting we close off the tunnel completely with plastic. Be careful because a hot day with a closed tunnel can quickly damage your plants. After about two weeks the tunnels are opened more to the outside (see the picture below). Keep the plastic partially covering your peppers throughout the season (as shown below). You will have to check almost daily to make sure that the soil stays moist. Fertilize with fish emulsion (as per dilution instructions on the bottle) once in July and once in August. You should have an abundant harvest. Remember that many peppers will turn red if you let them ripen on the plant. However letting your peppers ripen too long signals to the plant to stop producing peppers and this could decrease your yield.
The directions are similar to peppers in many aspects. Pick a spot that receives full sun all day and plant in raised beds, cover with plastic tunnels and prepare the soil just as you would the peppers. There are some tips that we have found work for us. Tomatoes need lots of sun and lots of warmth to grow. If you have a sunny southern exposure next to your house this is the best. Tomatoes should be planted deep. For maximum yield they should be planted three feet apart. Many books state that you can plant them closer but don’t. In Colorado Springs it is necessary to get the soil warm around the plants and shading from other plants defeats this purpose.
It is OK to bury the stem about 2 inches deeper than it comes in its container. Just remove the lower leaves that could be buried. Use the plastic tunnel method but be sure to partially roll up the plastic on hot days. In the evenings you can role down the plastic to keep in the warmth and hasten growth. Another tip is to be sure to prune off the suckers that form between the main stem and the branches of your plant (see picture). Continue to remove these suckers up about 18 inches from the ground. This keeps your plants from growing more leaves than fruit and reduces unneeded shading of the ground. This cannot be stressed enough.
Keep the soil around the base of your tomato plants free of low hanging branches! If the sun can not shine on the base of the plant then you need to prune. Tomato plants do not grow below 50ºF. The early summer nights around Colorado Springs are usually in the 50’s. By the time the sun warms up the soil so the plant can start to kick in and grow it is between 10 AM and noon. If it takes longer to warm the soil it will take more days before your fruit ripens. How many gardeners say that just when it frosts in the fall their tomatoes are just starting to ripen? If they follow the above suggestions they will be eating tomatoes in the middle of July.